Ventilating cabinet



Nov` 7, 1933. H. c. HUEGLIN 1,933,910

VENTILATING CABINET NOV- 7 1933 H. c. HUEGLIN VENTILATING CABINET 2 Sheets-Shea?I 2 Filed March ll, 1929 Patented Nov. 7, 1933 UNiEo srrEs VENTILATING CABINET Herman C. Hueglin, Chicago, Ill., assigner to Federal Merchandise Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application March 11, r1929. SerialrNo. 345,951

7 Claims. (Cl. 98-43) This invention relates to Ventilating cabinet, more particularly to .Ventilating cabinets for use in homes or small oilices.

Exhaust fans have heretofore been used to improve the .ventilation of certain rooms in a residence, particularly to improve the ventilation of the kitchen. These ventilators usually contain a medium size electrically driven exhaust fan travelling at a relatively low rate of speed.

For this purpose,` several fans have been provided those fans usually being mounted within a ring shaped spider which supports the motor. To mount the fan in the kitchen it has been the custom heretofore to mount the spider 'of the fan in a framework which is held before a window and usually near the top of it'. The framework for supporting the fan frequently takes the form of a plate or board extending completely across the window frame.

The use of such a device has several disadvantages among which are the danger of curtains or other iiexible materials being drawn into the fan and mutilated, the inconvenience of mounting and operating the fan, and the inconvenience caused by the solid mounting board of the fan blocking out a considerable portion of the window thereby darkening the room.

In my present invention I have provided an exhaust fan of the same general type as has been used heretofore and I have provided a mounting for the fan adapting it for insertion in the wall of the residence, so that the air in the room may be exhausted without blocking the window of the room and without the accompanying dangers that are encountered when the fan is inserted in the window.

In carrying out this invention, I have provided a cabinet of suitable dimensions to be fitted in the wall of a residence, into which the cabinet iits ilush with both the inside and the outside surfaces of the wall. Across the inside opening of the cabinet I have provided a grating or cover to guard against the possibility of objects being drawn into the fan. l

The fan itself is mounted on a panell which panel obstructs the outside face of the cabinet except for the area in which the blades of the fan rotate.

Since a Ventilating cabinet of this kind is installed as a part of the Wall of the residence it is necessary to provide a cover or door which will effectively block the fan opening during inclement weather and during periods when it is not desired to use the fan. To accomplish this purpose I have provided a door hinged to the mounting panel, which door swings outward from the panel. Since the door is hinged at the upper end ofthe panel when it is in its outward position it serves as an awning projecting outward to guard the fan opening against the entrance of rain or snow. The awning also shields the lopen-- ing againstsunlight without obstructing the flow of air through the ventilator. i

In the usual installations of this kind the ian `is placed relatively high in the room, that is near the ceiling, to exhaust the warm air and steam of cooking from the room. The fan so located is in a more or less out or" the way place and to facilitate operating the same I have provided a relatively long lever arrangement which extends down within easy reach. y

By pushing upon this lever the door covering the fan opening is opened and by the operation of the door, a switch is closed to start the ian in motion. When it is desired to stop the fan, the lever is pulled down and the door closed. The closing of the door reoperates the electric switch to turn off the fan. By this arrangement it is impossible to run the fan unless the door is open, a very desirable feature since when the fan is running-an outlet must be provided for the air moved by it if it is to be of any service in ventilating the room. rIhe necessity of closing the door to stop the fanguards against damage to the home due to rain being driven into the fan opening when the-'fan is not running, as would be likely to happen if it were possible to stop the fan without closing the door.

Two embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, the one being the preferred form of cabinet used incase the wall in which the cabinet is already built and not provided with an opening suitable for the cabinet. The other embodiment is preferred for new installations wherein a suitable wooden frame has been incorporated in the wall to receive vthe ventilating cabinet. The V:former embodiment includes a flanged collar which is adjustably fastened tc the cabinet to permit tting the cabinet in walls of varying thickness. In the latter embodiment thecollar is omitted since `the wooden frame can be varied to compensate for dilerent wall thicknesses. y' Figure 1 shows an elevation View of the cabinet as it would appear from the inside ofra Vroom,V

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of Figurefl taken along the line 2-2 looking inthe direction of the arrows, l

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the cabinet frame taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is another sectional view of the cabinet frame taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a detailed section of the operating lever taken along the line 5-5of Figure 2,

Figure 6 is a detailed section of the hinge for attaching the operating lever to the door of the cabinet taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 2, and

Figure 7 is an enlarged view of the operating lever showing the latching devices.

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view showing th'e cabinet installed in a wooden frame work provided or it in the wall of a building.

The cabinet is constructed of sheet metal member 1 which has the flange 1 bent in one of its edges. Four of these members 1 form the four sides of the rectangular cabinet, the sides being welded or riveted together at the corners. Mounting brackets are attached to the side members 1 inside the iiange 1', the brackets being placed at the corners of the cabinet. The grating 2 is set over the flange l to close the one face of the cabinet, being held on the flanges by the screws 6 extending through it and the mounting brackets 6. The edges or the grating overhang the Acabinet at 3 to forni a nange which will fit snugly up against the wall in which the cabinet is mounted.

The opposite face of the cabinet is closed by the plate 7 the edges of which are bent to nt over the ends of the side walls 1 with the ange 7' of the plate disposed on the outside of the Walls. Plate 7 is held on th1 cabinet by welding or riveting the flanges to the side walls.

Disposed in the center ci the plate 7 is a large circular opening into which the mounting ring 48 of the fan is iitted and held by the screws 9. In the preferred embodiment of my invention I use an exhaust fan ci the type shown in my copending application Serial Number 289,573, filed June 39, 1928, although any exhaust fan of suitable size may be substituted therefor.

Attached to the outward face of the mounting plate 7 is the door 8 which is hinged at 8 to the upper edge of the mounting plate. This door 8 comprises a sheet metal door the edges of which are reinforced by a strip or" sheet metal 12 welded to the door. The hinges 8' may be simple strap hinges or ii desired a single piano hinge extending completely across the top of door may be used. The door is provided with hinge bracket 13 which extends through a slot in the plate 8, and which has a foot 13' bent over lush with the outer face of the plate 8 and spot welded thereto.

An electric switch 10, is attached to the mounting plate 7 by means of screws, in such a position that the operating lever 11 of the switch 10 is pushed into the switch by the door 8 when the latter is in its closed position. When the door is opened, the lever 11 is pushed out by a spring within the switch to operate the switch and close an electrical circuit through it. Commercial switches ci this type which are in common use as door switches in closets, telephone booths and the like, are particularly well adapted for use as a door switch in the instant application, and are of sucient capacity .to carry the currentA required by the preferred fan motor.

The door 8 is operated by a system of levers comprising the straight bar lever 15 which is pivotally riveted at 14 to the hinge bracket 13 on the door, and the L-shape operating lever 17 which is pivotally hinged at 27 to the mounting bracket 28 which is attached to the frame member 1Y of the cabinet by screws or rivets. The free end of the lever l5 is pivotally connected at 16 to the operating lever 17, and the other end of the lever 17 is provided with the pivot bearing 18.

The levers 15 and 17 project through a rectangular slot 15 in the mounting plate 7 near the end of the cabinet on which the bracket 28 is mounted. As can be best seen in Figures 5 and 7, the pivot bearing 18 loosely fits in the slot 19 in the operating lever 21. The coil spring 20 has one end wrapped around the pivot 18, and the other end attached to the rod 21 by the screw 22. pivot 18 is normally maintained in the lowermost position of the slot 19 for a purpose which will be apparent hereinafter.

The operating lever 21 is provided with the lip 23 projecting from its side at a point adjacent to the lower part o the cabinet. A latch bracket 24 is fastened on to the front plate 2 of the cabinet by the screw 26 extending through the latch 24, the plate 2 and themounting bracket 6. The latch 24 is provided with'the slot 25 through which the lever 21 projects. When the door is closed, as shown by the vsolici lines in Figure 2, the operating lever 21 is in its lowermost positicn with the lip 23 below the latch 24. The spring 20 is tension-ed and the pivot 18 is moved to the upper end of the slot 19. By pressing the lever21 towards the cabinet 1, the lip 23 can be made to engage the under edge of the bracket 24 back of the slot 25 to enable the'lip 23 to latch the door in its closed position. The lip 23 is held securely against the bracket by the tension of spring 20.

Inasmuch as the cabinet will most likely be placed in a high and rather inaccessible place the rod 21 is extended by the handle 29 which is attached to it by screws or rivets. Handle 29 may be of any length suitable to bring it in easy reaching distance from the oor. When it is desired to open the vlatched door, the rod 21 is pulled outward from the cabinet to unlatch the lip 23 from the latch 24 and to permit the lip to pass through the slot 25 in the latch. A slight upward pressure on the rod 21 moves the L-shape lever 17 about its pivot 27, causing the pivot 16 to move in a counter-clockwise direction and push the lever 15 acting outward. Lever 15 through pivot 14, pushes the door 8 on its hinge 8', the final position assumed by the door and levers being shown by dotted lines in Figure 2.

In passing from one eXtreme position to the other as the door is opened, the levers 15 and 17 pass through the point in which they are aligned with each other and come to rest after they have been moved a few more degrees. That is their bottom edges are moved through a )straight angle into an obtuse angle. With the levers so positioned the bottom edge of lever 17 rests against the bottom edge of the slot 15.

The weight of the door 8 bears on lever 17 through lever 15 to hold 17 against theedge of the slot thereby locking the door in its open position. AsV previously pointed out, an operation of the Adoor 8'from its closed to its open position operates the switch 10 to close the electric circuit .to the motor to thereby start it.

` Injinstances' where the ventilator is4 installed in a new building, it is preferable to provide a wooden frame 40 inthe wall 42, as shown in Fig- Iure 8. This frame can be incorporated in the wall 42 ywhen the latter is built, to afford a firm supportfor the Ventilating cabinet. Preferably This spring'is tensioned so that the toggle connection for holding said door in full open position, a lost motion connection between two of said levers for releasing said door from full open position upon operation of said levers, lock means for holding said door in closed position, and resilient means for holding said lock means under tension when said door is closed. HERMAN C. HUEGLIN. 

